Carbon fiber shells for customizing the appearance of a vehicle

ABSTRACT

A carbon fiber shell is used to change the appearance or look of a vehicle, such as a motorcycle, and is formed to be non-permanently installed over an existing vehicle component to customize the appearance of a vehicle while still being removable. The carbon fiber shell is molded to match the contours or the shape of the original vehicle component so that, when installed, the shell has the same contours and thus the same physical shape as the original vehicle component. Moreover, the carbon fiber shell is configured to be mounted onto the vehicle using existing mounting brackets, holes or other structure on the vehicle that is provided to mount or secure the original vehicle component, thereby eliminating the need to drill holes into, or apply glue or other adhesives to the original vehicle component. This feature additionally allows the carbon fiber shell to be removed in the same manner as the original vehicle component. The carbon fiber shell may also incorporate lighting effects and may be ordered via a system for customizing the vehicle.

CROSS REFERENCE TO OTHER APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 61/616,992 filed on Mar. 28, 2012, the entire contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

Motor vehicles owners, and especially motorcycle owners, often customizethe appearance of components of their vehicles beyond the offeringsprovided by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Customizing theappearance of components of a vehicle, such as motorcycle tanks orfenders, automobile panels, etc., adds a degree of individuality to thevehicle that is valued by owners, especially when the vehicle model isbroadly available to the public. These customizations can differentiatethe vehicle in a racing competition, indicate membership in anorganization, indicate an official status such as a police officer, orsimply express the personality or style of the vehicle owner to others.Despite the large number and variety of customizations available in themarketplace, a few common customization characteristics are generallymost valued by consumers. The value added to a customized vehicle oftenlies with the extent of customization, the quality of the modification,the tools and skill set required to perform the customization, and thecost to the owner. Vehicle modifications that have little consequenceover what is available from the OEM typically have a corresponding lowvalue to the owner. When a customization does not match the level ofquality of the rest of the vehicle, the customization has a similarlylow value to the owner. Owners who prefer to customize their vehicles asa hobby using their own tools and skill set value customizations thatcan be completed without specialized tools or an extensive skill set.The level of vehicle customization typically corresponds to thefinancial cost, so the level of customization is often a function of thebudget of the owner. Therefore, high quality customizations that can becompleted at low cost with a basic set of tools are most highly valuedby vehicle owners.

Moreover, other important customization characteristics considered byvehicle owners when attempting to customize their vehicles is the amountof downtime that the vehicle must experience to perform thecustomization and whether the customization is a permanent modificationor a revisable modification of the vehicle. Owners value the time theyhave to use their vehicles, and so customizations that require excessivedowntime of the vehicle, i.e., that require the vehicle to be unusablefor their intended purpose for a long period of time during thecustomization process, are undesirable. Moreover, modifications thatpermanently alter original vehicle components prevent the owner fromreturning the vehicle to its original condition prior to sale, and alsomake it less likely that the owner can make additional or differentmodifications to that particular vehicle component in the future. As aresult, modifications that can be installed quickly and uninstalledwithout damaging or altering original vehicle components are highlyvalued.

The most obvious and well-known manner of customizing the appearance ofa vehicle or of a vehicle component, such as the tank of a motorcycle,is to repaint the component. In many cases, this type of customizationrequires the owner to disassemble the vehicle and apply a custom paintjob to the component. The custom paint job may include a new shade,color or pattern of paint and/or may include artist designs, such asdepictions of animals, logos, stars, or other artistic renderings. Inorder to be of a high quality, custom paint jobs must typically beperformed by a professional, which can be cost prohibitive for manyvehicle owners. This type of customization also typically requiresexcessive downtime, because the vehicle needs to be disassembled, partsthereof must be sent to a professional to apply paint, and the vehiclemust be reassembled. To return the vehicle to the originalconfiguration, the owner would need to strip the paint from therepainted surfaces and have the original finish re-applied, which may ormay not be possible, and again may be cost prohibitive.

Various other manners of customizing a vehicle or a component of avehicle have been developed in an attempt to reduce some of the problemsassociated with customized paint jobs. In particular, in an attempt toreduce the cost of having a professional apply a customized paint designto a vehicle, techniques have been developed to print or applypreconfigured designs or decals directly onto a vehicle component.However, direct printing or decal application solutions still generallyrequire the component to which the printing or decal is to be applied tobe removed from the vehicle and sent to a printing professional,suffering similar downtime and cost disadvantages. Applying apre-printed screen to a vehicle component also requires removal of thecomponent from the vehicle and requires specialized skill in applyingthe screen or decal so that the customization is of acceptable quality.In some cases, these techniques also require preparation of the surfaceof the vehicle component, such as priming, sanding, undercoating, etc.,that destroy or alter the original surface coating of the vehiclecomponent. Moreover, such printing screens and decals are typically notdesigned to be able to be removed from the surface of the component,once applied. As a result, these techniques irreversibly alter theoriginal paint or other surface application of the vehicle, making itdifficult to return the vehicle to its original factory made condition.

Another vehicle customization technique that has been developed usespreformed or premade shell covers made of plastic or fiberglass that maybe applied over an original vehicle component and attached thereto withadhesive. One such shell cover used for motorcycle tanks is described inU.S. Pat. No. 7,857,928. Generally speaking, this shell cover isdesigned to cover up damage or to provide a customized look to a vehiclecomponent. However, there are still numerous problems associated withthese types of shell covers. In particular, the adhesive used to adherethe shell cover to the surface of the original component may damage theoriginal finish of the surface or make it impossible to remove the shellcover to return the vehicle to the original configuration. These typesof shell covers are also made of plastic or fiberglass, which detractsfrom the look or function of the original vehicle component becausethese shell covers must be constructed to be of unacceptable thicknessto be sturdy enough for mounting on the vehicle. In particular, shellcovers made of plastic or fiberglass must be manufactured to be of aminimum thickness on the order of ¼ inches, which when applied over theoriginal vehicle component, such as a motorcycle tank, make the tanklook unacceptably larger than the original, thereby detracting from theoriginal design of the vehicle. Moreover, in the case of a fiberglasstank shell such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,857,928, the tankshell is installed by placing the tank shell down on top of the originalshell, which means that the tank shell cannot be formed to match theshape or curves of the original tank on all sides thereof, againaltering the look of the original design of the vehicle in anunacceptable manner. Moreover, in this case, the bottom of the tankshell forms a straight edge that easily catches and tears the clothingof the rider.

Still further, many types of shell covers must be mounted onto thevehicle using support structures that must be welded or otherwiseattached to one or more original vehicle components. These designs,however, require the vehicle owner to have access to welding equipmentand the skill set to use this equipment safely and effectively.Moreover, these techniques again require modification of the originalvehicle components, and prevent or reduce the ability of the owner toreturn the vehicle to its original configuration. The originalcomponents may also be damaged by the welding process and may notfunction as designed by the OEM. Modification options that cut awayportions of the vehicle components to provide, for example, backlightingor other lighting effects on the vehicle suffer similar issues becausethe vehicle component cannot be returned to its original configuration,and the vehicle component may be damaged during modification.

There are also numerous customization techniques in the marketplace thatsecure surface pads to a vehicle using magnetic sheeting. In some cases,these surface pads can have pre-selected designs applied thereto.However, these surface pads are typically preformed to mount to only aportion of a vehicle component to protect only a portion of the surfaceof the vehicle and/or to customize only a portion of the appearance ofthe vehicle. In any event, these products suffer from not being securelyfastened to the vehicle chassis and as having a tendency to move duringoperation of the vehicle, possibly preventing the safe operation of thevehicle. Further, these surface mounted pad products will not adhere tonon-magnetic metal surfaces, such as aluminum, or non-metallic surfacessuch as fiberglass or carbon fiber. These types of vehicle modificationsalso suffer from having an unprofessional or inferior look.

While there are services that print custom images onto vehicle surfacepads which are then shipped to consumers, these pads typically areinstalled with adhesive and thus cannot be removed without damaging thefinish of the vehicle component surface. Vehicle component coveringsmounted with straps or fasteners can change the appearance of thecomponent and can move or become untied during operation, leading to apotential hazard.

SUMMARY

A carbon fiber shell is used to change the appearance or look of avehicle, such as a motorcycle, and is formed to be non-permanentlyinstalled over an existing vehicle component to customize the appearanceof a vehicle while still being removable. The carbon fiber shell, whichmay be, for example, a shell for a motorcycle tank or other motorcycle,automotive or recreational vehicle component such as a fender, a hood,etc., is molded to match the contours or the shape of the originalvehicle component so that, when installed, the shell has the samecontours and thus the same physical shape as the original vehiclecomponent. Moreover, the carbon fiber shell may be configured to bemounted onto the vehicle using existing mounting brackets, holes orother structure on the vehicle that is used to mount or secure theoriginal vehicle component, thereby eliminating the need to drill holesinto, or apply glue or other adhesives to the original vehiclecomponent. This feature additionally allows the carbon fiber shell to beremoved in the same manner as the original vehicle component.

Because the shells described herein are constructed of carbon fiber,they can be constructed with superior strength and rigidity as comparedto plastic or fiberglass shells while still being significantly thinnerthan plastic or fiberglass shells. In order to maintain the requiredstrength and rigidity, preferably the carbon fiber shell may beconstructed to be at less than ⅛^(th) of an inch thick, and containthree or four layers of carbon fiber material. By constructing thecarbon fiber shell as thin as possible, the original look of the vehiclecomponent can be maintained when the shell is installed. Moreover, theshell does not interfere with the safe operation of the vehicle.

The carbon fiber shells described herein may be easily customized todisplay personalized designs by enabling a user to apply or to haveapplied customized graphics and/or lighting materials to the exterior ofthe carbon fiber shell. Customizing the carbon fiber shell may beperformed by painting the shell, applying decals to or wrapping theshell with preformed wrapping materials having graphics printed thereon.Customizing the surface of the carbon fiber shell, as opposed tocustomizing the actual vehicle component, reduces vehicle downtime andthe costs of providing customizations to the vehicle, as it does notrequire the original vehicle component to be removed from the vehicle orrequire that the vehicle be taken to a specialty shop during thecustomization process. Instead, the vehicle is fully usable during thetime that the carbon fiber shell is constructed and has customizedvisual designs applied thereto. The only down time of the vehicle occursduring the installation of the preformed carbon fiber shell onto thevehicle, which typically takes under a couple of hours.

In one case, a user or vehicle owner can use an electronic portal, suchas a web page based ordering system, to select a customized carbon fibershell to be manufactured and can additionally use this portal to selectthe artistic design to be applied to the carbon fiber shell to therebycustomize the carbon fiber shell. This ordering system may enable theuser to select the type (e.g., make, model and year) of vehicle to whichthe carbon fiber shell is to be applied, may enable the user to selectthe component of the vehicle (e.g., a fender, a tank or some othercomponent) on which the shell is to be placed or mounted, and may enablethe user to select or specify the customized design (in the form of, forexample, paint designs, decals or wrapping) to be applied to the shell.The user may select one or more of a number of pre-stored orpre-fabricated designs and/or colors to be applied to the shell, or mayenable the user to provide or specify a specific user created designand/or color scheme. After the user specifies the particular vehiclecomponent and the artistic or visual design to be applied to the shell,the shell is manufactured according to the specified design and may thenbe shipped or otherwise delivered to the user, at which time the usercan install the customized shell onto the vehicle.

Because the carbon fiber shell typically fits over the surface of theoriginal vehicle component using the mounting structure already on thevehicle, installation of the carbon fiber shell can be accomplished witha basic skill set and tools utilizing the existing support structures ofthe vehicle. In many cases, the existing vehicle component requires nomodification and suffers no damage during installation of the carbonfiber shell. Removal of the carbon fiber shell returns the vehiclecomponent to its “stock” configuration for resale or enables theinstallation of a different customized carbon fiber shell at a futuretime.

In one case, the carbon fiber shell may be customized to includelighting features, such as backlighting that shines through a decal orpaint, a customized set or pattern of lights, such as light bulbs of thesame or various different colors in a particular pattern, etc. Ifdesired, the lighting effects may be obtained using any lightingmaterial or structure, such as light emitting diodes (LEDs),incandescent lights, etc. or using electroluminescent materialsincluding for example, electroluminescent tape, placed on the exteriorof the carbon fiber shell. The lights or electroluminescent materialsmay be embedded within the outer layer or below the exterior surface ofthe fiber shell so that the outer layer of the lights or tape is flushwith that surface of the carbon fiber shell. Additionally, wires orother electrical energization mechanisms may be installed in the carbonfiber shell to energize the lights or the electroluminescent material tocause the lighting effects. If desired, the energization mechanism mayenergize the lights or lighting material directly from the vehiclebattery or an external battery, and may do so in a continuous manner(e.g., whenever the vehicle is running or has its auxiliary electricalfeatures energized). In other cases, the energization mechanism mayenergize the lights or lighting material in coordination with otherelectrical or non-electrical features of the vehicle, such as incoordination with the energization of the turn signals, the runninglights or the headlights of the vehicle, in coordination with the speedor speedometer reading of the vehicle, in coordination with the positionof the accelerator or brake of the vehicle, in coordination with thegear in which the vehicle is running, etc. In still a furtherembodiment, the energization mechanism may energize the lights orlighting material in a non-continuous manner using an energizationpattern specified or selectable by the user to thereby vary the timingand or pattern of energization of the lighted material. Because thelighting effects are mounted onto the carbon fiber shell that is, inturn, mounted onto a vehicle component, this system enables a user toprovide a significant number of unique lighting effects to a vehiclewithout altering the body components of the original vehicle.

According to one embodiment, a shell for a fuel tank is provided. Theshell includes a first half at least partially defined by a first topedge, a first front edge recessed from the first top edge and having afirst mounting flange protruding therefrom, and a first bottom edge; anda second half at least partially defined by a second top edge, a secondfront edge recessed from the second top edge and having a secondmounting flange protruding therefrom, and a second bottom edge.According to this embodiment, when the first half and the second halfcover respective side portions of the fuel tank, the first top edge atleast partially aligns with the second top edge, and each of the firstmounting flange and the second mounting flange aligns with a mount ofthe motorcycle. The shell can also include a layer of protectivematerial disposed along a respective inside surface of each of the firsthalf and the second half, as well as respective cutaways and/orrespective ridge fittings in the first and second halves.

According to another embodiment, an apparatus for mounting to a vehiclecomponent of a vehicle is provided. The apparatus includes a first halfdefining a first cavity, the first half adapted to cover a first portionof the vehicle component; a second half defining a second cavity, thesecond half adapted to cover a second portion of the vehicle component;and a first attachment part disposed on the first half and a secondattachment part disposed on the second half. Further, according to theembodiment, when the first half and the second half cover the respectivefirst and second portions of the vehicle component, the first half atleast partially aligns with the second half, and each of the firstattachment part and the second attachment part aligns with a mount ofthe vehicle. The apparatus can further include a layer of protectivematerial, cutaways formed within the first half and the second half, anda ridge fitting disposed on each of the first half and the second half.

According to another embodiment, a method of manufacturing a shell for avehicle component is provided. The method includes forming a first halfwith a first cavity and a second half with a second cavity, each of thefirst cavity and the second cavity defined by a respective at least oneclosed side, a respective open side, and a respective inside surface.Further, the method includes forming a first attachment mechanism on thefirst half and a second attachment mechanism on the second half, thefirst attachment mechanism and the second attachment mechanism adaptedto respectively secure the first half and the second half to a vehicle.Moreover, the method includes lining the respective inside surfaces ofthe first half and the second half with a layer of protective material.In this embodiment, the method further includes covering respective sideportions of the vehicle component with the first half and the secondhalf and forming respective ridge fittings on each of the respective atleast one closed side.

According to another embodiment, a method of manufacturing a shellhaving carbon fiber material for a vehicle component is provided. Themethod includes forming a mold of an exterior of the vehicle component,forming a first layer of carbon fiber material according to the mold,and depositing an additional layer of carbon fiber material onto thefirst layer. Further, the method includes repeating the depositing theadditional layer of carbon fiber material to form the shell until theshell reaches a desired thickness, and applying a graphic to the shell.In this embodiment, a rendering of the shell with the graphic appliedthereto can be provided.

According to another embodiment, an apparatus incorporating lightingeffects for use with a vehicle is provided. The apparatus includes ashell defining a cavity for covering a component of the vehicle, alighting material for generating light, the lighting material disposedon or within at least part of the shell, and a conductor connected tothe lighting material and adapted to conduct electrical power toilluminate the lighting material. The apparatus can further include acontroller for controlling illumination of the lighting material.

According to another embodiment, a vehicle body component for mountingto a vehicle is provided. The vehicle body component includes a shellelement, a lighting material element integrated in or disposed on theshell element, and a conductor connected to the lighting materialelement and adapted to conduct electrical power to illuminate thelighting material. The vehicle body component can further include acontroller for controlling illumination of the lighting material.

According to another embodiment, a method of manufacturing a vehiclecomponent incorporating lighting effects is provided. The methodincludes forming a shell for covering a portion of a vehicle, anddisposing a lighting material on or within at least a part of the shell,the lighting material for generating light. The method further includesconnecting a conductor to the lighting material, the conductor adaptedto conduct electrical power to illuminate the lighting material. In somecases, the method can include lining an inside surface of the shell witha layer of protective material.

According to another embodiment, a method of customizing a vehicle usinga shell component is provided. The method includes enabling a user toselect a vehicle parameter and a vehicle component over which the shellcomponent will be placed when mounted on the vehicle, generating arendering of the vehicle based on the vehicle parameter and the vehiclecomponent, and transmitting the rendering to be displayed on aninterface associated with the user. Further, the method comprisesenabling the user to select a customization for the shell component,updating the rendering to depict the shell component with thecustomization placed over the vehicle component, and transmitting therendering that was updated to be displayed on the interface. Accordingto this embodiment, the method can further comprise enabling the user toplace an order for the shell component according to the rendering thatwas updated, processing payment information provided by the user tocomplete the order, and transmitting information associated with theorder to a manufacturing entity.

According to another embodiment, a system for customizing a vehicleusing a shell component is provided. The system comprises a memoryconfigured to store vehicle parameters and indications of vehiclecomponents corresponding to the vehicle parameters, a communicationmodule for sending and receiving data, and a processor adapted tointerface with the memory and the communication module. The processor isconfigured to enable a user to select at least one of the vehicleparameters and one of the vehicle components over which the shellcomponent will be placed when mounted on the vehicle, generate arendering of the vehicle based on the selected at least one vehicleparameter and the selected vehicle component, and transmit, via thecommunication module, the rendering to be displayed on an interfaceassociated with the user. The processor is further configured to enablethe user to select a customization for the shell component, update therendering to depict the shell component with the customization placedover the selected vehicle component, and transmit, via the communicationmodule, the rendering that was updated to be displayed on the interface.In this embodiment, the processor can be further configured to enablethe user to place an order for the shell component according to therendering that was updated, process payment information provided by theuser to complete the order, and transmit, via the communication module,information associated with the order to a manufacturing entity.

According to another embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium is provided. The non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium stores a plurality of instructions which, when executed by aprocessor, cause the processor to enable a user to select a vehicleparameter and a vehicle component over which a shell component will beplaced when mounted on a vehicle, generate a rendering of the vehiclebased on the vehicle parameter and the vehicle component, transmit therendering to be displayed on an interface associated with the user,enable the user to select a customization for the shell component,update the rendering to depict the shell component with thecustomization placed over the vehicle component, and transmit therendering that was updated to be displayed on the interface. Accordingto this embodiment, the vehicle parameter is at least one of a vehiclemake, a vehicle model, or a vehicle year.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a set of two halves of a carbon fiber tankshell and corresponding internal protective materials that may be usedto customize the appearance of a motorcycle tank.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the carbon fiber shell of FIG. 1 and amotorcycle tank illustrating the manner in which the carbon fiber shellmay be installed over the motorcycle tank.

FIG. 3 is a close-up view of a motorcycle tank with a carbon fiber shellinstalled thereon.

FIG. 4A is an internal view of a carbon fiber shell withelectroluminescent material applied to an external surface andillustrating an energization mechanism that energizes theelectroluminescent materials.

FIG. 4B is a cross sectional view of a portion of the carbon fiber shellof FIG. 4A with embedded electroluminescent materials and embedded wiresfor energizing the electroluminescent materials.

FIG. 4C is an illustration of a motorcycle having a controller forcontrolling lighting materials on a tank shell and fender shells of themotorcycle.

FIG. 4D is a schematic of a control system that may be used to controlthe energization of lighting materials disposed on or in a shell.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an electronic ordering system that may beused to customize the appearance of a vehicle using visually customizedcarbon fiber shells.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary application window of the ordering system of FIG.5 that enables a user to select a vehicle manufacturer and model, and todetermine vehicle components to be customized.

FIG. 7 is an exemplary application window of the ordering system of FIG.5 that enables a user to customize the appearance of a vehicle, and topreview customizations on a representative vehicle in three dimensions.

FIG. 8 is an exemplary application window of the ordering system of FIG.5 that enables a user to specify and preview visual customizations oncarbon fiber shells for a vehicle.

FIG. 9 is an exemplary application window of the ordering system of FIG.5 that enables a user to preview customized carbon fiber shellsinstalled onto vehicle components with electroluminescent materials onthe surface of the carbon fiber shells that change for turn signaling,vehicle speed, or engine speed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Carbon fiber shells with applied visual customizations installed overvehicle components provide significant advantages over modifying thecomponents themselves including allowing otherwise expensive ordifficult modifications to be performed on vehicle components at a lowercost while maximizing the use of the vehicle. Visual customizations thatcan be provided on carbon fiber shells can include custom paint, decals,lighting materials, or custom designs specified by the vehicle owner. Byapplying the visual customizations to a carbon fiber shell, as opposedto the vehicle itself, the customization can be performed inexpensivelyand still allow the owner to use the vehicle while the carbon fibershell is being manufactured customized. Carbon fiber shells can bemanufactured in multiple pieces that are installed together to providethe appearance of one continuous surface or that, for example, wraparound external surfaces to provide the look of an entire aftermarketcomponent, such as an aftermarket motorcycle gas tank.

Turning to a specific example of a carbon fiber shell that may be usedto modify the appearance of a vehicle component, FIG. 1 depicts anillustration of a visually customized carbon fiber shell 10 that isplaced over and that may be used to customize the appearance of amotorcycle tank 12. The carbon fiber shell 10 of FIG. 1 is illustratedas having a visual or artistic design applied to one or more outsidesurfaces 13 of the shell 12. The visual or artistic design can beapplied, for example, with paint, decals, or wrapping and/or can beapplied using lights or electroluminescent materials that can beenergized in a manner explained in greater detail below. The visual orartistic design may include a painting scheme, such as a particularpaint color or pattern of colors applied to the exterior surfaces of theshell 10, and may also or instead include an artistic rendering of somekind, such as those that include one or more logos, words, signs,symbols, mascots, visual themes, animals, or other artistic renderings.

In the case of FIG. 1, the carbon fiber shell 10 includes two halves,each half including a mounting flange 14 that accepts a bolt, and aridge fitting 15 that fits over ridges in the surface of the vehiclecomponent, i.e., the motorcycle tank 12, being covered. As will beunderstood, in this case, the two halves of the tank shell 10illustrated in FIG. 1 are formed to have interior and exterior surfacesthat match or that are formed with the same contours as the outside ofthe tank 12. The two halves of the tank shell 10 of FIG. 1 can bemounted on the tank 12 from opposite sides of the tank 12 and, wheninstalled on the tank 12, the halves of the tank shell 10 meet in themiddle along a longitudinal center line of the tank 12, to thereby coverthe tank 12 and give the appearance of one continuous surface. In thiscase, as better illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, a console of themotorcycle may be mounted on top of the tank shell 10 to cover the seamformed between the two halves of the tank shell 10.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the carbon fiber shell 10 may, upon beingformed, have rough or unsmoothed internal surfaces which, if installeddirectly over vehicle components such as over the tank 12, may scratchor damage the surface finish on the tank 12. This operation would thendamage the original paint or surface treatment of the motorcycle tank12. To alleviate this problem, a corresponding protective layer ofmaterial 16 may be installed on the inside surface of each of the halvesof the tank shell 12 to protect the surface finish of the tank 12 whenthe shell 10 is installed on the tank 12. In particular, the protectivelayer of material 16 may be formed as a separate component to be of thesame shape or contour as the inside of each half of the shell 10, asbest illustrated in FIG. 2, and may be mounted to or fixed with adhesiveto the inside surface of the tank shell 10. The material 16 may be, forexample, a soft or pliant material such as polyester, cotton, etc. andthe surface of the material 16 which contacts the tank 12 may benon-adhesive. In one case, the material 16 may be the material sold bythe trade name Alcantara® which is a soft and stretchable material.Alternatively, the material 16 may be a foam or other material that canbe sprayed onto and cover the inside of the halves of the tank shell 12without first being formed as a separate sheet of material and which,once sprayed, may dry to form a soft or semi-soft layer of material thatis scratch resistant. The protective layer of material 16 protects thevehicle component such as the tank 12 from scratches or damage and alsoacts to reduce vibration and movement between the carbon fiber shell 10and the vehicle component, better emulating the actual surface of theunderlying vehicle component. The protective layer of material 16 can beconstructed of any material that does not permanently adhere to thesurface of the vehicle component, while not damaging or otherwisealtering the surface of the vehicle component when installed, orremoved. The protective layer of material 16 preferably does not extendoutside of the carbon fiber shell 10 when installed, and shouldpreferably cover the entire internal surface of the carbon fiber shell10. Alternatively, instead of using a protective layer of material 16,the internal surface of the tank shell 10 may sanded or machined to besmoothed to eliminate or reduce the ability of the tank shell 10 toscratch the exterior surface of the tank 12 when the tank shell 10 isinstalled onto the tank 12.

FIG. 2 depicts a close-up view of the motorcycle tank 12 installed on amotorcycle 20, and illustrates a manner in which the carbon fiber shell10 and protective layer of material 16, once formed, may be installedonto the motorcycle tank 12. A console or an instrument panel 25 of themotorcycle 20 is removed or moved upwards as illustrated in FIG. 2 sothat the protective layer of material 16 and carbon fiber shell 10 canbe installed underneath the instrument panel 25. The protective layersof material 16 and halves of the carbon fiber shell 10 are mounted oneach side of the existing motorcycle gas tank 12 using the existing boltmounting point or hole 27 on the motorcycle 20 and the ridge fitting 15on the carbon fiber shell 10. When the halves of the carbon fiber shell10 are mounted onto the tank 12, the bolt mounting point 27 aligns withand corresponds to the mounting flanges 14 on the shell 10. The ridgefitting 15 fits over a corresponding weld structure on the motorcyclegas tank 12 and may be used to hold the rear end of the tank shell 10 inplace with pressure directed to the front of the shell 10. That is, theshell halves 10 may be formed to be tightly fit so that the weld ridgeon the tank 12 provides pressure on the ridge fitting of the shellhalves 10 holding the rear end of the tank shell 10 in place. The carbonfiber shell 10 fits substantially around the existing motorcycle gastank 12 in a manner that the existing motorcycle gas tank 12 is nolonger visible. In particular, as formed, each of the halves of the tankshell 10 include curves that match the curved sides of the tank 12 on aside, a portion of the top, a portion of the bottom and a portion of thefront and rear parts of the tank 12. As such, in this case, the halvesof the shell 10 are mounted by sliding these halves from the sides ofthe tank 12 towards the center of the tank 12 until the inner surface(or the material 16 mounted thereon) of each tank shell half is disposedagainst the outer side wall of the tank 12, at which point, the ridgefitting 15 will fit over or be over the weld ridge of the tank 12 andthe mounting flange 14 will be disposed against or adjacent to themounting hole 27. In this case, it may be necessary to remove the boltholding the tank 12 in place from the mounting hole 27 prior toinstallation of the shell 10.

The protective layer of material 16 is held in place over the motorcyclegas tank 12 by pressure from the overlying carbon fiber shell 10 wheninstalled or may be adhered to the inner surface of the shell 10. Whenthe halves of the carbon fiber shell 10 are installed on both sides ofthe motorcycle fuel tank 12, and the instrument panel 25 is moveddownwards over the halves of the carbon fiber shells 10, the carbonfiber shell 10 gives the appearance of a new surface of the originalunderlying motorcycle fuel tank 12. Moreover, in this case, theinstrument panel 25 covers the seam between the halves of the shell 10on the top of the tank 12.

FIG. 3 illustrates the carbon fiber shell 10 installed over a motorcyclefuel tank 12. In this case, a bolt 32 (which may be the original bolt ofthe motorcycle that holds the tank 12 in place or may be a slightlylonger bolt supplied with the tank shell 10) is installed through themounting flange 14 and into the bolt mounting point 27 of FIG. 2. Theinstrument panel 25 is now moved downwards onto the carbon fiber shells10. The ridge fitting 15 is fitted over a corresponding ridge on themotorcycle gas tank directly adjacent to the motorcycle seat 35. Theinstrument panel 25 that applies friction downward, the bolt 32installed through the flange 14 and into the bolt mounting point 27, andthe ridge fitting 15, all provide mounting mechanisms for holding thehalves of the carbon fiber shell 10 in place during operation of themotorcycle 20. Moreover, the various upper and lower curved surfaces ofthe halves of the tank shell 10 prevent movement of the tank shell 10.

Differing types of visual designs may be placed or painted onto theexterior surface of the carbon fiber shell halves according to thespecifications of the user. These visual designs may include painteddesigns or color schemes, decals, logos, words, signs, symbols, mascots,artistic designs, or any combination thereof. By applying visual designsto the carbon fiber shell, as opposed to the vehicle componentsthemselves, the vehicle itself is not modified. The user may select thedesign to be painted or applied to the carbon fiber shell from a set ofpreselected designs or may provide the visual design for instance byelectronic means. Alternatively the user may select a wholly designedcarbon fiber shell with a visual design thereon, possibly at a lowercost.

The visual designs may also incorporate lighting effects in the form ofelectrically energized lighting mechanisms. Lighting effects may be usedto form a part of a visual design using, for example, lighting materialsapplied to one or more external or non-external surfaces of the carbonfiber shell 10 to provide visual customizations. These lighting effectsmay provide illumination for functional uses (such as turn signaling) ormay be provide illumination to produce purely cosmetic effects, or acombination of both. FIG. 4A, illustrates an internal view of a carbonfiber shell 41 with lighting materials 42 (shown in dotted relief)applied in a design on the reverse (external) surface. FIG. 4Billustrates a cross section of the carbon fiber shell 41 of FIG. 4Adepicting lighting materials 42 embedded into the layers 45 of carbonfiber material in the shell 41 to provide a smooth external surface anddepicts wires 44 embedded within the carbon fiber shell 41 connected toa power source 47 (not shown in FIG. 4B). FIG. 4C illustrates a systemwhere the energization of lighting materials 42 on each of a tank shelland fender shells of a motorcycle are controlled with a controller 49available to the user. The lighting materials 42 of FIG. 4C may becontrolled together or separately as desired. FIG. 4D illustrates asystem where lighting materials 415 are controlled or modulated by avehicle control system 414. In these cases, the lighting materials 42and 415 may include for instance, electroluminescent tape, lightemitting diodes (LEDs), organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), oractive-matrix organic light emitting diodes (AMOLEDs) formed in rows,columns, and/or arrays, incandescent bulbs or strips, neon or other gasfilled lights, lit fiberglass tubing, solar panels, photovoltain arrays,or any other type of lighted material that can be installed onto thecarbon fiber shells 10 or 41. In some cases, an outside layer such as atransparent layer or other type of protective layer can be disposed onthe exterior of the carbon fiber shells 10 or 41 to protect the carbonfiber shells 10 or 41 and cover any visual customizations or lightingeffects. The visual customizations or lighting effects can be visiblethrough the outside layer.

As is known, electroluminescent devices such as electroluminescent tapesare actually lamps, as they emit light. However, instead of creatinglight by heating a filament or by charging a gas field,electroluminescent tape relies on phosphorescent materials which glowwhen exposed to a small AC electrical current. Electroluminescent tapesgenerally radiate low heat, require low power and emit a soft lightwithout irritating glare. These tapes are invariably very thin, almostlike ribbons or sheets of paper, and they can be produced in a varietyof colors. The source of light is a phosphorous mixture which is spreadonto a transparent, conductive indium-tin-oxide (ITO) film and thencovered with another thin sheet of conductive material. In manyelectroluminescent tape configurations, electrical power is providedthrough copper or aluminum foil conductors on either side of the ITOfilm. However, different conductive materials can be used depending upondesign requirements.

Lighting materials generally require an energization mechanism thatenergizes the materials from an external power source in order to causethe materials to emit light. Dual conductors illustrated in FIGS. 4A and4B as wires 44 may be disposed within (e.g., between layers of carbonfiber) or in a ridge, depression, or a trough formed within an innersurface of the carbon fiber shell 41 and may operate to provide a supplyand return electrical energy (voltage and/or current) for energizing thelights or electroluminescent tape that form the lighting materials 42.The conductors 44 are preferably electrically isolated from the carbonfiber shell 41. A voltage can be applied between or across the dualconductors 44 from the vehicle power system by wires 43 (shown in FIGS.4A and 4B) to provide a means for energizing the lighting materials 42applied to or in the surface of the carbon fiber shell 41. When avoltage is applied between the supply and return wires 43, the lightingmaterial 42 emits light. The intensity and color of light emitted by thelighting material 42 can vary based on the method of manufacture of thelighting material 42, the types of lights therein, and the frequencyand/or amplitude of an alternating voltage or direct current voltagethat may be applied to the wires 43, etc., or any combination thereof.

The lighting material 42 illustrated in FIG. 4A may be embedded withinthe layers 45 of carbon fiber material to provide a smooth externalsurface as illustrated in the cross section of FIG. 4B. In theillustrated example, the first two layers 45 of carbon fiber material inFIG. 4B are replaced with the lighting material 42 and are energizedwith the wires 44 embedded within one or more deeper layers 45 of thecarbon fiber shell 41. The wires 44 are connected to a voltage source(which may be the battery or other source connected to the battery ofthe motorcycle or which may be an externally supplied voltage source) toenergize the lighting materials 42. As illustrated in FIG. 4C, the usermay have a controller 49 connected to the wires 43 and 44 and to thevoltage sources which may be used to turn on or off, or to selectparticular lighting features or operating modes of the lighting material42. FIG. 4D illustrates a lighting control system 414 that can modulatean alternating voltage source generated by an inverter 412 based ondirect current voltage/current provided from a vehicle battery 411. Thelighting control system 414 may be or may receive and operate on, forexample, one or more of the engine speed indicator signal, a vehiclespeed indicator signal, turn signaling, braking signals, acceleratorsignals, or may include a strobe signal generator that flashes orramps-up the brightness of the lighting. The alternating voltagesupplied at the output of the modulator 413, which voltage may bemodulated by the lighting control system 414, may energize the lightingmaterials (415 in this case) in accordance with the vehicle controlsystem operating mode selected by the user. For example, the lightingmaterials 415 may be controlled by the engine speed indicator of thevehicle. In this case, the lighting materials 42 may increase inbrightness when the engine speed is high, and decrease in brightnesswhen the engine speed is low, providing a dynamic visual effect. Inother cases, the lighting materials 415 may be tied to the operation ofthe vehicle turn signals, brakes, accelerator, etc. Still further, thevehicle control system 414 may enable the user to select variouslighting effects, such as brightness of the lighting effects, a blinkingpattern of the lighting effects, timing associated with a periodicoperation of the lighting effects, a pattern of operation orenergization of the lighting effects, etc.

A vehicle owner or other user may use an electronic ordering system tospecify and order customized vehicle components in the form ofcustomized carbon fiber shells, such as those described herein, as partof the process of customizing a vehicle. In particular, a shellmanufacturer, a parts supplier, a vehicle manufacturer or customizer orany other third party may provide an electronic ordering system thatimplements a comprehensive technique to specify, preview, manufacture,and ship customized carbon fiber shells for installation on one or morevehicles. An example of such an electronic ordering system 50 isillustrated in FIG. 5.

In particular, using the system 50 in FIG. 5, a vehicle owner generallyinteracts with an electronic portal or computer application to specifythe particular vehicle and component to customize and thereby specifiesthe particular carbon fiber shell to be manufactured or customized,specifies the manner in which selected carbon fiber shell will becustomized, previews the customized carbon fiber shell as, for example,installed on a vehicle, and has the ability to order the customizedcarbon fiber shell. A manufacturer then develops or manufactures thecarbon fiber shell to the specifications of the vehicle owner and shipsthe visually customized carbon fiber shell directly to the owner who maythen install the shell on the appropriate vehicle. By utilizing theordering system 50 of FIG. 5, the owner can continue to use the vehiclewhile the visually customized carbon fiber shell is being manufactured.The only vehicle down time required is the time needed to install thecarbon fiber shell over the vehicle component. If the vehicle ownerrequires multiple sets of customized carbon fiber shells, they can beordered at the same time, and the vehicle owner can change theappearance of the vehicle as quickly as the shells can be installed,typically within hours. When the vehicle owner wishes to return thevehicle to “stock” configuration, the carbon fiber shells are simplyremoved and the vehicle returns to its original, unmodifiedconfiguration.

The ordering system 50 illustrated in FIG. 5 generally contains threemajor components, including a front-end ordering system 51, a back-endrendering component 52 and an ordering component 53. The components 51,52 and 53 interact with each other to allow a customer to specify,design and order customized shell components. More specifically, acustomer generally interacts with the front-end system 51, which takescustomer inputs regarding the customized vehicle components to becreated, and displays the customized vehicle to the customer foracceptance. In this manner the customer has the ability to see a visualrepresentation of the design or shell either individually on asinstalled on a vehicle, before deciding whether or not to purchase thecarbon fiber shell, or to further modify the design. The back-endrendering component 52 interacts with multiple databases containingavailable vehicles and vehicle components to both render the customizedvehicle for the customer, and when the order is accepted, transmit thenecessary details defining the shell component to be manufactured to theback-end ordering component 53. The back-end rendering component 52 islargely transparent to the customer, but has sufficient computingresources, such as is typically provided by a server, to allow the frontend component 51 to simply take inputs and display renderings. As such,the front end component 51 may be a web browser, or a thin clientapplication. Once the order is verified and accepted by the customer,the back-end ordering component 53, which is also largely transparent tothe customer, sends the completed order to a factory where the shell ismanufactured according to the specifications of the user. This factoryhas the ability to fabricate whole carbon fiber shells and/or to simplyrender visual designs onto pre-formed carbon fiber shells. The back-endordering component 53 also accepts customer payments and coordinates theshipment of the order to the home or other delivery location of thecustomer.

Thus, the components 51, 52 and 53 of the ordering system 50 worktogether to provide a customer 515 with an end-to-end solution requiringonly specification of, payment for, and receipt of the finished product.Turning to the specifics of the three major components of the system 50of FIG. 5, the front-end component 51 may include a touch screen 503, akeyboard and a mouse 504 and a front-end client graphical application506 that executes on a processor (not shown) using data stored in acomputer-readable memory 518. The application 506 is stored in thememory 518 if desired and executes on the processor to enable a user tospecify visual customizations the user wants to see rendered on aspecified carbon fiber shell. Optionally, the customer 515 can upload afile 501 containing a custom image they would like to see on a vehicleand store that file in the memory 518. The compiled design detailsentered by the customer 515 are electronically transmitted from a frontend client graphical application 506 to a back-end server renderingapplication 507 via a communications network (such as the internet)where the design details may be stored in a memory 519.

FIG. 6 is an example application window that may be produced by theapplication 506 and used to enable a customer to interact with thefront-end client graphical application 506 to select parameters thatdefine the carbon fiber shell to be made, such as a vehicle make andmodel and year, and that enables the customer to specify a particularvehicle component to customize. The customer may select the make ormanufacturer of the vehicle with radio buttons 602, and the application506 may display the available vehicle models 601 along with selectableradio buttons to enable a user to select which vehicle model for whichto produce a customized carbon fiber shell. Once the customer selectsthe make and model and, if needed, year of the vehicle to customize, theapplication 506 may render a representative vehicle in the window 603with highlighted vehicle components indicating the particular componentsof that vehicle for which customized carbon fiber shells can beproduced. The application 506 renders corresponding vehicle componentsand radio buttons 604 on the screen 600 allowing the customer to selectone or more of the available components to be customized. Turning backto FIG. 5, the make, model, year, and components of the vehicle selectedby the customer in the front-end client application 506 may then betransmitted to the back-end rendering application 507 and may be storedin the memory 519. Of course, the application 506 may interface with theapplication 507 to obtain the data and screens needed to produce thescreen 600 during use by the customer so that all rendering and datamanipulation may be performed by the application 507.

The rendering application 507 has access to a vehicle database 508 thatcontains design and/or configuration data pertaining to a plurality ofrepresentative vehicles for which customized carbon fiber shells may beproduced. That is, the database 508 may stored rendering data for eachof a number of vehicles and rendering and manufacturing data for thecarbon fiber shells that can be produced for each of those vehicles. Adatabase 509 may store data defining logos, decals, artistic designs,lighting effects, etc. that can be visually rendered and produced on oneor more of the carbon fiber shells and that may be used to define whichvisual effects to place on a carbon fiber shell to be ordered. Likewise,a database 510 stores available carbon fiber shell shapes 510 upon whichvisual customizations can be rendered which correspond to components ofthe representative vehicles in the database 508. The make, model, yearand components of the vehicle selected by the user in the front endapplication 506 determine which vehicle and shells are or can berendered by the back-end rendering application 507. The renderingapplication 507 using the specification stored in the memory 519generates a rendering of the customized carbon fiber shell andreprehensive vehicle and electronically transmits these renderings backto the front-end client graphical application 506 where the renderingsare stored in the memory 518 and may be displayed to the user. Thefront-end client graphical application 506 may use the rendering storedin the memory 518 to display the visually customized carbon fiber shellsand the shells as installed on the representative vehicle in threedimensions on the screen 503.

As an example, the vehicle and shell renderings created by the back-endrendering application 507 may be displayed to the customer at thefront-end application 506 using an example application window 700illustrated in FIG. 7. The application window 700 displays arepresentative vehicle 701 with visually customized carbon fiber shells704 installed over vehicle components, in this case a motorcycle. Thevehicle can be rotated in three dimensions to a number of differentviews including the views illustrated in items 701, 702, and 703 eachgiving the customer a visual rendering of the vehicle to evaluate thevisual customization before purchase. The right hand sidebar 713provides the user with a mechanism to change the visual customizationsrendered on the representative vehicle 701. The customer can furtherselect the vehicle component the customer wishes to visually customizeby clicking on that vehicle component and, if a carbon fiber shell isavailable to customize that vehicle component within the database 510 ofFIG. 5, the carbon fiber shell will be rendered in the sidebar 713 asthe item 706.

The carbon fiber shell rendering 706 can be visually customized bybackground color, in the plurality of options illustrated by boxes 708.Further, logos and decals, consistent with or as stored in the database509 of FIG. 5 may be presented to the customer for addition to thecarbon fiber shell rendering 706 as the decal 707 as applied to theshell rendering 706. In the example application window 700 illustratedin FIG. 7, the items 709 and 710 may display pre-stored artistic designsor logos that may be selected and, in this case, the item 709 has beenselected by the customer with a mouse click and as such has beenrendered both on the carbon fiber shell 706, and on the representativevehicle 704 for evaluation by the customer. Alternatively, the customermay upload an electronic file, in the text box 712, for example a PDF orJPEG file containing a custom image such as that of a club logo or agraphic design to be painted or printed onto the carbon fiber shell asspecified by the user. The file to be uploaded may be specified by thecustomer in a textbox 712, and may be visually rendered for example in awindow 711 as an additional image to render onto both the example carbonfiber shell 706 and representative vehicle 701. In this manner, a useror customer may specify customer supplied graphics to be printed orpainted onto the carbon fiber shell to be created and may view how thesedesigns look on the actual vehicle via renderings 701, 702 and 703 ofthe vehicle.

Another example application window 800 that may be generated by thefront-end client graphical application 506 in FIG. 5 is illustrated inFIG. 8. Here, the application window 800 includes a sidebar 806 thatprovides a close-up view of a visually customized carbon fiber shell 807having lighting effects thereon that may be specified by the user. Inthis example, lighting effects may be obtained using aelectroluminescent tape or other material and the design of thesematerials may be provided by or uploaded via textbox 812 (as a PDF orJPEG file for example) and displayed generally in the view window 811.The visually customized carbon fiber shell 807, containing the visualdesign uploaded in textbox 812 and rendered in the window 811 is shownin both a day view 801 and a night view 803 in the screen 800 to betterillustrate the manner in which the specified lighting effects will lookin the daylight and at night. In this case, the electroluminescentportions 802 and 805 of the design appear in the day view 801 and thenight view 803 and are lit or illuminated to indicate how these lightingeffects will appear on the vehicle when energized. A plurality ofdifferent color electroluminescent lighting options may be provided tothe customer in the sidebar 806 using the checkboxes 813 and thesedifferent colors of lighting effects may be reflected in the views shownin the window 811 and the day and night views 801 and 803, respectively,when selected by a user. Here the customer can select and see how thelighting options will appear in the day view 801 and the night view 803so as to better enable the customer to visual the look of the carbonfiber shell being created with the lighting effects. Likewise, thecustomer may select color patterns for the shell via the boxes 808 andmay select one or more predefined or pre-stored lighted designs via theboxes 809 and 810. The user may be able to scroll through these boxes toillustrate other possible pre-stored visual designs with or withoutlighting effects. Of course, the view window 811 may show the currentlyselected design in more detail and the design in the view window 811 maychange when the user selects a different design, either via the boxes809 and 810 or the text box 812.

FIG. 9 is an example of an application window 900 providing additionallighting options that may be generated by the front-end client graphicalapplication 506 in FIG. 5 to allow a user to specify and preview theshell design being created. Lighting options can be selected in a righthand sidebar 906, to include blinking, ramping, and different colors forexample. A right hand sidebar 907 provides options to connect thelighting materials to turn signaling and engine and vehicle speedindicators although other manners of driving or modulating the lightingfeatures could be specified. In the view 901, lighting materials areapplied to carbon fiber shells that are installed over an existingmotorcycle gas tank 904, the front wheel well 905, and the rear fender902. These lighting materials are visible in the front and rear view aswell as would be required for example a turn signaling application. Thecustomer 515 reviews the rendered visual customization on carbon fibershells and installed onto a representative vehicle in three dimensionsby interacting with the screen 503 and the keyboard and mouse 504 (ofFIG. 5) using the front end client graphical application 506 and theexample application windows 600, 700, 800 and 900 of FIGS. 6-9. Thecustomer 515 can then further specify visual customizations based on thevisual rendering in the graphical application 506, or decide to purchaseone or more of the carbon fiber shells. The back-end server renderingapplication 507 also generates an invoice that details the costsassociated with developing and shipping the visually customized carbonfiber shells to the customer 515. The invoice is electronicallytransmitted to the front end graphical application 506. The front endgraphical application 506 electronically transmits the invoice to asecure customer payment interface 505 to present the payment andordering details to the customer 515 for review in a secure customerpayment interface 505. If the customer decides to purchase the carbonfiber shells, the customer provides payment through the secure customerpayment interface 505 in FIG. 5 corresponding to an invoice presented tothe customer for review. Payment is forwarded from the secure customerpayment interface to the graphical application 506, and to the back-endserver ordering application 511.

Once payment is provided to the back-end ordering application 511, thepayment is forwarded to an e-commerce application 513 and stored in thememory 521. The e-commerce application 513 provides confirmation ofpayment back to the ordering application 511. The back-end orderingapplication 511 then sends the assembled specified order to the factory512 for development.

The factory 512 may manufacture the visually customized carbon fibershell using the specifications electronically transmitted from theordering application 511 which may include data pertaining to the typeor shape and size of the carbon fiber shell to be manufactured, thethickness of the carbon fiber shell, the design and lighting effects tobe put on the carbon fiber shell and any associated control circuitryneed to drive or energize the lighting effects on the carbon fibershell. Of course, the factory or manufacturer may create the customizedcarbon fiber shells using standard carbon fiber manufacturingtechniques. In one case, the factory may pre-create molds for each ofthe possible shells to be created or ordered, and may use these molds tocreate base carbon fiber shells, and may then paint or apply thespecified graphics to the carbon fiber shell, as specified by the user.In one case, molds may be created by placing epoxy or other moldingmaterial around an actual vehicle component (such as a motorcycle tankor fender), allowing the epoxy to dry and then removing the vehiclecomponent to create a negative mold. Thereafter, to form a carbon fibershell, a shellac or other clear coat material that forms a smoothsurface may be placed onto the inner surface of the mold which, whendried, will enable the mold to create a carbon fiber shell with a smoothouter surface. Thereafter, layers of carbon fiber sheets may be placedor laid into the mold, and a pre-pregnation or stiffening material (suchas resin) may be placed between the carbon fiber layers (as placed inthe mold). The carbon fiber layers as located within the mold are thenheated or baked in an oven so that the stiffening material hardens anddries to form a structurally sound carbon fiber shell. Thereafter, theshell is removed from the mold and may be painted in the desired orspecified manner, and may have one or more artistic designs orrenderings painted, decaled or wrapped thereon, or otherwise appliedthereto. In the case of carbon fiber shells having lighting featurestherein, the lighting material, such as electroluminescent tape, may beplaced in the mold next to the clear coat material and carbon fiberlayers may be placed around the tape to form the outer layers of theshell. Wires may be attached to the opposite sides of the tape and maybe embedded into the layers of the carbon fiber sheets and run to andconnected to an attachment mechanism for attaching the wires to a wiringharness or other control mechanism as the layers of carbon fiber areplaced into the mold. In this manner, the tape and the wires areintegrally formed with the shell during the manufacturing process. Onthe other hand, the molds may be formed to include impressions in theouter layers of the shell being created in which electroluminescent tapeor other lights may be placed when the shell has been formed. In thiscase, wiring troughs may be formed or cut into the inner portion of theshell. After the shell is formed and removed from the mold, the tape orother lighting mechanisms are placed into the indentations on the shelland the wires may be connected to the lighting material through theshell and may be run inside the troughs to a wiring harness. Of course,other manners of creating the carbon fiber shells could be used instead.Still further, if desired, painting, decals or other graphic designs maybe placed over the lighting materials (i.e., may be put on the outsideof the shell over or on top of the lighting materials) so that the lightemitted by the lighting materials emits through the various layers,colors or parts of the graphic design differently to create a pleasingvisual effect.

Once the visually customized carbon fiber shells and associated wiringand energization components are complete, they are provided to alogistics carrier 514 for shipment. If desired, installationinstructions may be provided based on the specific vehicle, mounting andcontrol structure specified. The logistics carrier 514 provides ashipping invoice to the e-commerce application 513 and the e-commerceapplication 513 provides payment to the logistics carrier 514 associatedwith that invoice. The logistics carrier 514 delivers the visuallycustomized carbon fiber shells to the customer 515.

When the customer 515 receives the visually customized carbon fibershells from the logistics carrier 514 the customer 515 installs thevisually customized carbon fiber shells onto the vehicle components in amanner consistent with FIGS. 1-3, for example. The customer 515 is ableto install the visually customized carbon fiber shells with a basic toolset such as simple wrenches and screw drivers to install bolt throughmounting flanges 14 of FIG. 2 into bolt mounting points 27 on thevehicle to install the carbon fiber shells over the correspondingvehicle components, including the underlying non-adhesive protectivelayer of material 16 in FIG. 2. Mounting ridges 15 illustrated in FIG. 2can simply be fit over the corresponding ridges on the vehiclecomponent. If the visually customized carbon fiber shell requiresinstallation beneath an existing vehicle component, such as theinstrument display 25 of FIG. 2, the vehicle component is lifted overthe carbon fiber shell and then installed back on top of the carbonfiber shell.

If the visually customized carbon fiber shells contain lightingmaterials, for example electroluminescent materials, the correspondingwires in FIG. 4A-D would be installed into or connected into theelectrical system of the vehicle. In the example of FIG. 4C, the wiresare connected to a controller 49 to allow the user to turn on or off orto select particular control systems, such as turn signaling or engineor vehicle speed, to be used to modulate the energization of theelectroluminescent materials. If, for example, electroluminescentmaterials are installed on the carbon fiber shell, alternatingelectrical current would be generated from the direct electrical currentof the battery of the vehicle 411 through an inverter 412 (FIG. 4D). Thewires from the inverter 412 can be connected, for example as depicted inFIG. 4D, to control circuitry 414, through a modulator 413 on thevehicle. By modulating the alternating electrical current with thevehicle control system 414, the energization, and level of illuminationof the electroluminescent materials 415 would change based on thevehicle control system, for example turn signaling or vehicle or enginespeed indicators. Other examples of lighting materials such as LEDswould not require alternating electrical current for energization andcould for example be energized directly from the vehicle direct currentbattery. The end result is a visually customized vehicle shown in FIG. 5as item 517 containing visually customized carbon fiber shells.

Moreover, the carbon fiber shells are preferably manufactured usingbetween two and ten layers of carbon fiber and most preferably betweenthree and six layers of carbon fiber to provide a shell of sufficientstrength but of minimal thickness. In one preferred case, three or fourlayers of carbon fiber material are used to produce the carbon fibershell. However, other numbers of layers could be used as well. Inaddition, the manufactured carbon fiber shells are preferably between1/32^(th) and ⅛^(th) of an inch thick and most preferably the shells,without paint or graphics applied thereto, are approximately 1/16^(th)of an inch thick or less. In one embodiment, the shells are preferablymanufactured to be between 1/32^(th) and 1/16^(th) of an inch thick.

Still further, while the vehicle component shells described herein havebeen described mainly for use with or on motorcycle tanks or fenders,similar shells can be made for other types of vehicles and for othertypes of components of vehicles, including components for cars, trucks,four wheelers, three wheelers, snow mobiles, jet skis, etc. Thus, thecarbon fiber shells described herein and the method for designing andordering these shells are not limited to shells for motorcycle tanks oreven motorcycle parts.

The figures and description provided herein depict and describepreferred embodiments of vehicle component shells and a design andordering system for such vehicle components shells for purposes ofillustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize fromthe foregoing discussion that alternative embodiments of the structuresand methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing fromthe principles described herein. Thus, upon reading this disclosure,those of skill in the art will appreciate still additional alternativestructural and functional designs for vehicle component shells and for asystem and a process for designing, manufacturing and installing vehiclecomponent shells may be used. Thus, while particular embodiments andapplications have been illustrated and described, it is to be understoodthat the disclosed embodiments are not limited to the preciseconstruction and components disclosed herein. Various modifications,changes and variations, which will be apparent to those skilled in theart, may be made in the arrangement, operation and details of the methodand apparatus disclosed herein without departing from the spirit andscope defined in the appended claims.

1. A shell for a fuel tank of a motorcycle, the shell comprising: afirst half at least partially defined by a first top edge, a first frontedge recessed from the first top edge and having a first mounting flangeprotruding therefrom, and a first bottom edge; a second half at leastpartially defined by a second top edge, a second front edge recessedfrom the second top edge and having a second mounting flange protrudingtherefrom, and a second bottom edge; and wherein when the first half andthe second half cover respective side portions of the fuel tank, thefirst top edge at least partially aligns with the second top edge, andeach of the first mounting flange and the second mounting flange alignswith a mount of the motorcycle.
 2. The shell of claim 1, furthercomprising: a layer of protective material disposed along a respectiveinside surface of each of the first half and the second half.
 3. Theshell of claim 2, wherein when the first half and the second half coverthe respective side portions of the fuel tank, the layer of protectivematerial is disposed against the fuel tank.
 4. The shell of claim 1,wherein a respective cutaway extends inward from each of the first topedge and the second top edge, the respective cutaways adapted toaccommodate a protrusion from the fuel tank when the first half and thesecond half cover the respective side portions of the fuel tank.
 5. Theshell of claim 1, further comprising a respective ridge fitting disposedon each of the first half and the second half, the respective ridgefittings adapted to fit over a ridge on the fuel tank.
 6. The shell ofclaim 1, wherein the first bottom edge is recessed from the first frontedge and the second bottom edge is recessed from the second front edge.7. The shell of claim 1, wherein each of the first half and the secondhalf is composed of a carbon fiber material.
 8. The shell of claim 1,wherein each of the first half and the second half has a thickness in arange of 1/32 to ⅛ inches.
 9. An apparatus for mounting to a vehiclecomponent of a vehicle, the apparatus comprising: a first half defininga first cavity, the first half adapted to cover a first portion of thevehicle component; a second half defining a second cavity, the secondhalf adapted to cover a second portion of the vehicle component; a firstattachment part disposed on the first half and a second attachment partdisposed on the second half; and wherein when the first half and thesecond half cover the respective first and second portions of thevehicle component, the first half at least partially aligns with thesecond half, and each of the first attachment part and the secondattachment part aligns with a mount of the vehicle.
 10. The apparatus ofclaim 9, further comprising a layer of protective material disposedalong a respective inside surface of each of the first half and thesecond half.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein when the first halfand the second half cover the respective first portion and the secondportion, the layer of protective material is disposed against thevehicle component.
 12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein a respectivetop surface of the first half and the second half each has a cutawayformed therein, the cutaways adapted to accommodate a protrusion fromthe vehicle component when the first half and the second half cover therespective first portion and the second portion.
 13. The apparatus ofclaim 9, wherein each of the first half and the second half is composedof a carbon fiber material.
 14. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein thefirst attachment part and the second attachment part protrude fromrespective front surfaces of the first half and the second half.
 15. Theapparatus of claim 9, further comprising a respective ridge fittingdisposed on each of the first half and the second half, the respectiveridge fittings adapted to fit over a ridge on the vehicle component. 16.The apparatus of claim 9, wherein each of the first half and the secondhalf has a thickness in a range of 1/32 to ⅛ inches.
 17. A method ofmanufacturing a shell for a vehicle component, the method comprising:forming a first half with a first cavity and a second half with a secondcavity, each of the first cavity and the second cavity defined by arespective at least one closed side, a respective open side, and arespective inside surface; forming a first attachment mechanism on thefirst half and a second attachment mechanism on the second half, thefirst attachment mechanism and the second attachment mechanism adaptedto respectively secure the first half and the second half to a vehicle;and lining the respective inside surfaces of the first half and thesecond half with a layer of protective material.
 18. The method of claim17, further comprising covering respective side portions of the vehiclecomponent with the first half and the second half such that the layer ofprotective material is disposed against the vehicle component.
 19. Themethod of claim 18, wherein covering the respective side portionscomprises aligning each of the first attachment mechanism and the secondattachment mechanism with a mount of the vehicle.
 20. The method ofclaim 18, further comprising forming respective ridge fittings on eachof the respective at least one closed side, the respective ridgefittings adapted to fit over a ridge on the vehicle component when thefirst half and the second half cover the respective side portions of thevehicle component.
 21. The method of claim 17, wherein forming the firsthalf with the first cavity and the second half with the second cavitycomprises forming the first half and the second half using a carbonfiber material.
 22. The method of claim 17, wherein lining therespective inside surfaces of the first half and the second half withthe layer of protective material comprises: inserting the layer ofprotective material into the respective inside surfaces of the firsthalf and the second half; and aligning the layer of protective materialsuch that the layer of protective material does not extend beyond therespective inside surfaces.
 23. A method of manufacturing a shell havingcarbon fiber material for a vehicle component, the method comprising:forming a mold of an exterior of the vehicle component; forming a firstlayer of carbon fiber material according to the mold; depositing anadditional layer of carbon fiber material onto the first layer;repeating the depositing the additional layer of carbon fiber materialto form the shell until the shell reaches a desired thickness; andapplying a graphic to the shell.
 24. The method of claim 23, furthercomprising providing a rendering of the shell with the graphic appliedthereto, the rendering based on a customer specification.
 25. The methodof claim 23, wherein repeating the depositing comprises repeating thedepositing until the desired thickness is in a range of 1/32 to ⅛inches.
 26. The method of claim 23, wherein applying the graphic to theshell comprises at least one of painting the shell, applying a decal tothe shell, wrapping the shell with a material having the graphic printedthereon, or applying a lighting material to the shell. 27.-71.(canceled)